Nexus - 1602 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of US Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks... After 1st BCT finishes its dwell-time mission, expectations are that another, as yet unnamed, active-duty brigade will take over and that the mission will be a permanent one... They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control... been as continuous as it has been unheralded. Senator Leahy was thus right to draw our attention to it back on 29 September 2006, in his objections to the final form of the Fiscal Year 2007 National Defense Authorization Act, which gave the President increased power to call up the National Guard for law enforcement: It...should concern us all that the Conference agreement includes language that subverts solid, longstanding posse comitatus statutes that limit the military's involvement in law enforcement, thereby making it easier for the President to declare martial law. There is good reason for the constructive friction in existing law when it comes to martial law declarations. This announcement followed by two weeks the talk of ‘declarations. civil unrest and martial law that was used to panic Congress into passing Paulson's bail- This quiet agglomeration of military out legislation. Not only that, the two power has not "just growed like unprecedented events mirror each . . . Topsy" through inadvertence. It shows other: the bail-out debate anticipated ...Eliot Spitzer, In sustained intention, even if no one has civil unrest and martial law, while the . announced positioning of an active one of his last acts Brigade Combat Team on US soil as Governor of Bush Administration Protected anticipated civil unrest (such as might Predatory Lending result from the bail-out legislation). New York, warned Let us now consider the financial Then, according to Agence France- . . crisis and the panic bail-out. No one Presse on 17 December 2008, US about the impending should think that the crisis was made a public case for it. Northern Command chief General crisis created by unforeseen. Back in February 2008, Renuart announced that "the US 9 Eliot Spitzer, in one of his last acts as military plans to mobilize thousands of predatory lending Governor of New York, warned about troops to protect Washington and revealed the impending crisis created by against potential terrorist attack during the inauguration of president-elect Barack Obama". The US Army War College has also raised the possibility of the US Army being used to control civil unrest, according to the Phoenix Business Journal (15 December 2008): A new report by the US Army War College talks about the possibility of Pentagon resources and troops being predatory lending and revealed that the Bush administration was blocking state efforts to deal with it. His extraordinary warning in the 14 February Washington Post is worth quoting at some length: Several years ago, state attorneys general and others involved in consumer protection began to notice a marked increase in a range of predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders... that the Bush administration was blocking state efforts to deal with it. used should the economic crisis lead to civil unrest, Even though predatory lending was becoming a such as protests against businesses and government national problem, the Bush administration looked the or runs on beleaguered banks. other way and did nothing to protect American "Widespread civil violence inside the United States homeowners. In fact, the government chose instead would force the defense establishment to reorient to align itself with the banks that were victimizing priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order consumers... and human security," said the War College report. .. Several state legislatures, including New York's, The study says economic collapse, terrorism and enacted laws aimed at curbing such practices... loss of legal order are among possible domestic ..Not only did the Bush administration do nothing shocks that might require military action within the to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive US. and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from ...Eliot Spitzer, in one of his last acts about the impending crisis created by predatory lending and revealed that the Bush was blocking state efforts to deal with it. consumer consumers... ..Several state legislatures, including New York's, enacted laws aimed at curbing such practices... ..Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind It is clear that there has been a sustained move in the direction of martial law preparations, a trend that has eye. NEXUS ¢ 13 as Governor of New York, warned administration FEBRUARY — MARCH 2009 www.nexusmagazine.com